Courtyard by Marriott Invitational
(hosted by Lynn University, Boca Raton, Fla.)

Friday, Sept. 13
Daemen vs. Saint Leo, 11 a.m.
Daemen vs. Puerto Rico-Mayaguez, 3 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 14
Daemen vs. Fort Valley State, 11 a.m.
Daemen vs. Lynn, 7 p.m.

THE MATCHUP: The Daemen College women's volleyball team tips off the 2013 season by taking part in the Courtyard by Marriott Invitational hosted by Lynn University...the Wildcats will play four matches over two days...live stats for each match can be accessed HERE.

THE COACH: Mark Parisi is in his ninth year as head women's volleyball coach at Daemen and owns a 126-141 (.472) career record...success has been the norm in recent years, as the Wildcats have averaged 21 wins a year over the past four seasons under Parisi's guidance...the program is coming off back-to-back seasons of 25-plus victories and last year posted a 27-10 record en route to a United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) national championship.

NCAA DIVISION II: Daemen is in Candidacy Year Two of the NCAA Division II membership process...Daemen has been accepted as a member of the East Coast Conference (ECC) and will play full regular-season conference schedules beginning this fall...the College will also maintain its affiliation with the USCAA for postseason opportunities, as it will not be eligible for the ECC or NCAA postseason during Candidacy Year Two.

THE WILDCATS (0-0): Daemen returns nine players from last year's team that posted a 27-10 record and claimed the USCAA championship...Daemen is ranked fifth in the East Coast Conference preseason poll...juniors Ye Wang (Beijing, China/Hachioji Jissen) and Lindsey Nowak (West Seneca, N.Y./Immaculata) and seniors Kaley Vazquez (Kenmore, N.Y./Kenmore West) and Paige Tilert (Derby, N.Y./Genesee CC) top the list of returning players...Wang, a 6-foot-1 middle blocker, earned second team USCAA All-America honors last fall after posting 265 kills, a .362 hitting percentage and 119 blocks...Nowak, a junior outside hitter, ranked third on the team in kills (284) and fourth in blocks (51) last year...Vazquez totaled a team-high 761 assists last year and has already eclipsed 2,000 for her career (2,107)...Tilert, a defensive specialist, recorded 401 digs (third on the team) a year ago...a complete season preview is available HERE.

THE LIONS (2-2): Saint Leo is a member of the NCAA Division II Sunshine State Conference (SSC)...the Lions were picked seventh in the SSC preseason poll...the Lions return eight players from last year's team that posted a 12-16 record...seniors Meghan Donovan, Jaclyn Mailoto and Molly Alexander and junior Tawni Warren will provide veteran leadership this fall...Donovan ranked third in kills (249) and second in blocks (81) last year...Mailoto led the team in assists (648), while Alexander paced the team in digs (440) a year ago...Warren ranked second in kills (256) and digs (231)...Saint Leo opened the season by going 2-2 at the Grand Valley State Invitational last weekend...the Lions defeated Grand Valley (3-0) and Adelphi (3-1) and lost to 15th-ranked Truman (3-2) and Wayne State (Mich.) (3-0)...freshman Hope Lemon had 22 kills in the win over Adelphi and totaled a team-high 61 kills during the tournament...Mailoto averaged 11.53 assists per set, while junior college transfer Yaidimar Santiago recorded a team-high 64 digs over the four matches.

THE JANES: UPR-Mayaguez is a NCAA Division II independent.

THE WILDCATS (1-5): Fort Valley State is a member of the NCAA Division II Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC)...the Wildcats were picked sixth in the SIAC East preseason poll...the Wildcats return six players from last season's squad that finished 2-16 overall...sophomore Chovanna Isaac is coming off a solid rookie season in which she totaled 58 kills, 39 digs and 19 blocks...junior Megan Archie also returns after leading the team in assists (126) and digs (40) last year...Fort Valley opened the season with four-straight losses to Georgia College (3-0), Limestone College (3-0), Johnson C. Smith University (3-0) and Columbus State University (3-0), before posting a 3-2 victory over Brewton Parker University this past Tuesday... the win snapped a 13-match losing streak dating back to last season...FVSU dropped to 1-5 following a 3-0 loss to Columbus State on Wednesday...junior Briana Shepherd has led the attack thus far...the 5-10 middle hitter totaled 12 kills in the win over Brewton Parker and has totaled a team-high 42 kills over the first six matches.

THE FIGHTING KNIGHTS (3-2): Lynn is a member of the NCAA Division II Sunshine State Conference (SSC)...the Fighting Knights were picked sixth in the SSC preseason poll...the Fighting Knights return seven members from last season's squad that finished 15-13...seniors Angie Caple and Mandy McIntosh and junior Lizzy Raffa top the list of returning players...Caple  ranked second on the team in kills (263) and blocks (58) last year, while McIntosh ranked second in assists (288)...Raffa totaled 228 kills and a team-high 37 service aces...Lynn opened the season by winning three of four matches at the Nova Southeastern University Invitational last weekend...the Fighting Knights defeated Pfeiffer (3-0), Barton (3-0) and Virginia State (3-0) and lost to Findlay (3-1)...Lynn dropped to 3-2 on the year following a 3-0 loss to Palm Beach Atlantic on Tuesday...Caple totaled 12 kills in the win over Virginia State and has registered a team-high 44 kills and 12 blocks over the first five matches...freshman Marissa Tandron totaled 37 assists in the loss to Findlay and has averaged 7.75 assists per set thus far...junior Nikki Haben had 23 digs in the win over Barton and has totaled a team-high 66 digs thus far.

DID YOU KNOW?: The Wildcats went 11-2 against NCAA Division II opponents last fall in what was the College's first year of NCAA Division II candidacy...Daemen enters the 2013 season riding an eight-match winning streak...the Wildcats lost five of their first nine matches last fall, before putting together a 12-match winning streak - the longest of such streak of the Mark Parisi Era - that included wins over eight NCAA Division II programs.

WHAT'S NEXT: The Wildcats are idle until next weekend (Sept. 21-22) when they take part in the Yellow Jacket Invitational hosted by American International College in Springfield, Mass...Daemen's home-opener is set for Sept. 25 vs. Le Moyne College.

FOLLOW THE WILDCATS: Follow Daemen College athletics on Twitter (@DaemenAthletics) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/daemencollegeathletics) to get live game updates and breaking news throughout the year.